German troops could join Nato Iraq force

German Defence Minister Peter Struck said yesterday that German troops could form part of a Nato mission in Iraq once the force was backed by a United Nations mandate.

"If the relevant UN mandates are in place and if Nato is asked to take on more responsibility, then we would have no reason to oppose an engagement by the (Nato) Alliance in Iraq," Struck told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper.

Germany was a staunch opponent of the US-led invasion of Iraq and its stance alongside France in opposing the campaign put serious strain on relations with Washington.

Mr Struck's comments opening up the possibility of German troops being deployed in Iraq is the latest sign of easing transatlantic tensions, after US President George W. Bush praised German peacekeeping efforts in Afghanistan on Friday.

Germany could form part of a Nato force in Iraq once the government agreed to the deployment of troops, but Mr Struck said it was still a "theoretical" issue.

With almost daily attacks on US troops in which 55 have died and a monthly bill for the Iraq campaign of around $4 billion, there are growing calls from Washington for European governments to share the burden of restoring peace in Iraq. Struck has called for the international peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan to be expanded beyond the capital Kabul after his country hands over command of the force to Nato.

Speaking in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, yesterday en route to Afghanistan, Mr Struck said the government would look at Kunduz, 200 kilometres northwest of Kabul, as a possible area to deploy peacekeepers.

"I think we have to examine Kunduz," he told reporters, adding that he would discuss with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer whether to send an investigating team to the area to assess it. In the Sonntagzeitung newspaper, Mr Struck outlined Germany's main priorities when it came to deploying troops abroad, stressing Germany's strong ties with the United States.

"Our first priority is to secure stability on our own continent, Europe, such as in the Balkans," Struck said.

"Secondly, special German interests in a region or a country outside Europe such as Afghanistan, where we are fighting international terrorism and have shown solidarity with our most important coalition partner, the United States," he said.

Struck said he was sceptical about German troops taking part in peacekeeping missions in Africa and ruled out German involvement in Liberia.